A beautiful Schubert recital with stars George Fu and Lotte Betts-Dean in which grief mingles with consolation, combined with a film exploring the loss of a loved one.

The recital pairs Schubert's B-flat piano sonata, written during the last months of his life and with a disarming simplicity that seems to boil things down to the essentials, with selections from his “Swansong” cycle and the long and important song Einsamkeit (“Loneliness”). A moving and transcendent recital in the company of leading artists of the younger generation.

The documentary which precedes it, Solitude with Schubert, follows the two artists as they explore Schubert’s music, beginning in the depths of the Coronavirus lockdown. As the artists grapple with the themes of life, isolation and grief throughout Schubert’s music, the work matures over the years that follow and culminates in several touching performances (including one at The Red House for St Elizabeth Hospice) and a studio recording.

This project is entwined with our Compassionate Communities strand, in which we contemplate end of life, grief, and loss across our programmes.

Lotte Betts-Dean mezzo-soprano
George Xiaoyuan Fu piano
Matilda Hay filmmaker